GHS-REGIONAL TOURNAMENT

By GALEN WELLNICKI

“The kids played their hearts out,” Georgetown coach Rhonda Farney said after the Lady Eagles dropped a 55-43 decision to fourth-ranked Mont Belview Barbers Hill on Saturday afternoon in the Region III-5A finals at the Houston ISD’s sparkling $35.2 million Delmar Field House.

“We just ran out of gas in the fourth period,” said Farney of a game that propelled Barbers Hill into the UIL State Tournament on Thursday and Saturday at the Alamodome in San Antonio. “We had a couple extended possessions in the fourth quarter in which we didn’t score.”

Georgetown, which finished its season at 28-8, appeared in excellent shape on the scoreboard late in the third quarter, trailing only 44-40 on a basket by 6-foot-1 senior Dee Day with 16 seconds remaining in the period. Two free thows by junior Logan Keene with just 2.3 seconds left in the third hiked the Barbers Hill lead to six.

Charlie Collier, a 6-5 junior post committed to Connecticut, put in a rebound a minute and 23 seconds into the fourth quarter to give Barbers Hill an eight-point advanrtage. Day answered with a free throw six seconds later, but Georgetown could manage only two more free throws by 6-1 freshman Emery Herman before time expired.

In fact, an effective offense deserted the Lady Eagles and sentenced Georgetown to its third consecutive season in which it would finish one step shy of the state tournament. There was a five-minute and 38-second drought between Day’s free throw and Herman’s pair. That scoreless desert proved fatal.

The Barbers Hill defense didn’t yield a productive shot as the clock ticked down to the final minute and a lead that grew from seven to 12 points in the final 50 seconds as GHS was forced to fout. Lady Eagles’ seniors Brooke and Taylor Elliott both fould out in that final minute.

For Georgetown, the game ended the careers of four seniors — the Elliott twins, Day and manager Katy Brandenburg.

For Barbers Hill, now 34-4 on the season, it will advance to the UIL Class 5A semifinals against Region I winner Canyon (29-3) at 7 p.m.Thursday. Canyon earned its spot with a 46-42 win over previously ranked Amarillo in the Region IThe 8:30 p.m. semifinal will pair second-ranked Manfield Timberview (34-2) from Region II against surprising Region IV representative Corpus Christi Carroll (29-9), which beat Austin SFA, 48-42, in double overtime.

On Friday, in the Region III event, Georgetown earned its spot in the finals with a 41-36 nail-bitter over Beaumont Central and Barbers Hill exploded late to stop Rouse, the 19-5A runner-up, 56-36.

Georgetown hung with Barbers Hill during the first half and up tp the closing minutes of the third quarter. Barbers Hill never trailed as it jumped to a 6-0 lead. A field goal by Herman tied the game at 17-17 with 6:21 to go in the first half, but quickly pushed the lead back to six with a pair of three-pointers. GHS, which used fundamentals and defense to remain close most of the game, trailed 17-13 after one quarter and 31-28 at the half.

The Lady Eagles, who were outshot 41 percent to 34 percent, did claim a 34-21 edged on the boards. T. Elliott and 5-11 sophomore Emily Jones had seven each for GHS, while B. Elliott and Day each added six. Collier pulled down 12 boards for Barbers Hill.

“That’s a credit to their coaching staff,” Barbers Hill coach Tri Danley said of the Lady Eagles’ edge on the boards and their overall game. “They play fundamentally sound. They’re not going to make mistakes. They’re going to run a solid offense, and rebound and block out. If you watch the film, I bet they blocked us out every time.”

Collier hit on 10 of 22 shot attempts to lead all scorers with 20 points, while Herman and Day had 12 and 11, resprctively for GHS. Barbers Hill did post a 12-point edge beyond the arch as Georgetown made just two of 13 long-range shots.

The game was extremely physical with players have close contact with the playing surface. Asked if the game was as physical as it looked, sophomore post Jaelyn Knight answered with a knowing look, “It was more physical than it looked.”

While Georgetown stumbled down the stretch in the finals, the Lady Eagles were able to survive a determined comeback attempt by Beaumont Central (25-12) in the semifinals. GHS lead by 11 at 31-20 with 3:52 to go in the third period on a trey-and-one by B. Elliott, but the Jaguars ran nine conecutive points to pull with two at 31-29 at the end of the third quarter.

Three consecutive baskets by Day, Herman and T. Elliott put the Lady Eagles back up by eight at 37-29 with 5:01 to go, but again the Central went on a scoring jag and GHS led by just four at four with 1:28remaining after a bucket by Jaguars’ standout Anastacia Mickens. A trey by Mickens pulled Central within two with 18.9 seconds at 38-36. However, GHS was able to hold on with three free throws by Herman in the final eight seconds.

Mickens, a 5-10 senior, was the only player in the game to score in double digits with 22 points and also hauled down 13 rebounds, while Day and Herman led GHS with nine points each and Knight and B. Elliott each added seven points.

Neither team shot well in a game where both teams hit under 40 percent, including a combine five of 24 beyond the arch. East team had 25 rebounds.

Looking at her team’s regional performance, Farney said, “I’m really proud of the kids. They had so much adversity to overcome and I know none of them would want to use it as an excuse. Taylor was an extremely sick young lady during part of the playoffs, Maddie (junior Vickers) had an ankle sprain that limited her lateral movement, Emery and E.J. (Jones) also had ankle problems to overcome and Brooke had shingles at the end of the regular season.”

As for the immediate future,” We’ll take a couple weeks off,” an positive Farney said, “and then go back to work. The cupboard isn’t bare and we’ve got some good kids coming into the program.”

CLASS ACT: After being eliminated by Barbers Hill in Friday’s semifinals, Georgetown’s 19-5A rival Rouse was on hand to support the Lady Eagles in Saturday’s regional finals and were outside the fieldhouse along with Lady Eagles’ parents and other well-wishers to greet and congratulate the GHS players and coaches as they walked to the bus.

“It was a great gesture on their part,” Farney said of Rouse. “They put everything they had into supporting us during the game and then they were there when we went to our bus. A truly classy thing on their part.”

THANK YOU: Farney had a long list of people to thank, including her coaching staff (Kellye Richardson, Kristi Curtis and Kevin Spruill), her husband Bill, the team’s Sun City Booster Club, the player’s parents and general fans, the scout team of young players that helped prepare the Lady Eagles for their playoff games, other fans. the programs middle schools coaches (Tosha Doherty, Nicole Coronado Zavala and retired Lynne Cook), selecteded media members and boys head coach Russell Miller.

She had special praise for the parents. “Our parents understand the situation,” Farney said. “They all want their kids to be successful, but they understand what it takes to have a winning program.”

Seven trips to the regional tournament in eight seasons, including the last five, continue to add to the legacy of Lady Eagles basketball.